Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Tim’s Takeaways: Batter Up—Stepping Up to the Substrate

It is officially spring, which is typically celebrated with flowers, Easter baskets, and warmer and sunnier weather (except some quite chilly spring days here in Oregon). However, there is one thing that signals spring in my house more than anything else—baseball season. Regular readers of my column know that major league baseball is extremely important around my house. My wife certainly knows it. (Even now, she is in the other room rooting for her Seattle Mariners.) From the perspective of TV viewers, watching baseball is pretty much the same from game to game: Cheer for the good, and boo at the bad.

But especially for those who are new to the game, have you ever considered what it is like from the players’ perspective? In a video I watched recently of Adley Rutschman¹ walking onto the field for the first time as a major league catcher in May 2022, he slowly turns around toward home plate, soaking in what must have been an amazing moment for him.

What about a rookie stepping up to the plate for the first time? Consider the incredible focus it takes to evaluate the situation and correctly anticipate the trajectory of a ball traveling toward you at 90 mph. It takes an even greater depth of focus to block out the thousands of park spectators and millions of TV viewers who are scrutinizing every move you make. The pressure must be unimaginable.

We step up to all kinds of “plates” every day to perform our jobs, don’t we? We may not be staring down a baseball fastpitch, but we are sizing up our own skills, experiences, and untold variables to achieve maximum results. It’s not the pressure of a national “hit it out of the park” performance like a major league baseball player, but what we do still feels just as important. Now, let’s apply that to PCB design.

Personally, I did most of my design work when the work environment was very controlled. I was told what the board was used for, what its mechanical outline and features would be, and how many layers it would contain. Fabrication and assembly decisions were made or provided by someone else, as were the materials, design requirements, parts, and schematics. All I did was lay out the circuit board.

The design paradigm has changed quite a bit since then. Circuit board layout designers are now asked to step up to the plate more than ever. Their process includes the mechanical development of the board in order to better synchronize with other portions of the system. PCB CAD tools allow us to co-design with other boards, and it’s our job to ensure that the overall system design works together to properly mate cables and other interfacing components.

Layout designers are also putting more effort into ensuring that parts specified for the board are available for manufacturing at an approved price and in a timely manner. Thankfully, many CAD systems today are able to help both component vendors and PCB manufacturers connect online. Designers even have a hand in choosing the appropriate layer stackup for the board and selecting the best materials for optimum performance, mechanical durability, and efficient manufacturability.

PCB layout has come a long way since I first started in the industry. Designers today are being asked to level up their game in many ways. They may not be under as much pressure as a rookie ball player stepping into the batter’s box for his first major league at bat, but it’s still a lot for a designer who is new to this kind of responsibility. The key is to be prepared and know where to turn to for help when it is your turn to step up to the substrate. In that spirit, here are some tips:

1. Ask for help

Larger companies usually have a community of designers with various levels of experience that can field industry-related questions. However, in a smaller company, you may not have as many people to turn to. In this case, visit online designer forums and other social media platforms for more information. Many designers routinely use these for layout, tool, manufacturing, and other industry-related issues, including looking for the latest information on application-specific materials.

2. Attend a design review

Most designers are already familiar with attending reviews—including schematic, critical placement, routing, and final design reviews—during key points of the PCB development cycle. There are also pre-design and system reviews that may yield information pertinent to your work. Attending these will give you a better idea of requirements for your current design and will help prepare you for next-generation design.

3. Keep your finger on the pulse

Design techniques, standards and requirements, new technologies, and tool strategies are evolving quickly in our business. To succeed, it is essential to stay current and be prepared for what’s ahead. Trade publications like this one are excellent for keeping up with what’s new. For example, this issue of Design007 Magazine provides information that designers need to make good materials selection choices. The ideas offered here by the experts in our industry will help you with these decisions.

4. Pursue continuing education

Thankfully, we live in an era where almost anything we want to know is widely available. If you haven’t done so in a while, get online and explore the webinars, seminars, conferences, and classes that are available. Industry experts routinely offer group presentations on different design topics at PCB events. There are demonstrations by component or material vendors and PCB manufacturers that highlight how their products or services are used in various applications.

5. Work with your manufacturers

Finally, be sure to work with your manufacturers to understand their capabilities and the kinds of materials they recommend working with. Building circuit boards is what they do, so it is in their best interest to ensure that your project will work as you designed it. To that end, they can provide you with a wealth of information on what materials will be best for your design, both electrically and mechanically, and how cost-effective they are. Armed with that information, you will be better prepared to make the best material choices for your board and system requirements.

What do you think? Does stepping up to the plate to face increased design responsibilities still seem intimidating? With so many resources available, I sure hope not. So, grab your bat, or a convenient layout tool, step into the box, keep your eye on the ball, and swing for the fences. You’ve got this. Keep on designing everyone, and I’ll see you next time.

References

1. “Adley Rutschman taking it all in during his Major League debut gives you all the feels,” youtube.com.

This column originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of Design007 Magazine.